Winchester makes a 5 pellet 000 buckshot load for the 410 and Sellier and Bellot makes one with 5 00 pellets. While not the ideal HD load it would be adequate to stop a person easily. Either load would inflict a lot of damage at close range.

My wife uses her 20 ga Beretta 390 with #3 buckshot for home defense. It is a gun she is familiar with and it has shown itself to be very reliable. A gas operated auto would be a good choice in 20 ga as they are pretty easy on the shoulder when shooting it compared to a pump gun (one MUST practice before hand to gain familiarity and determine reliability) and ammo prices are camparatively inexpensive. The .410 would be a distant second choice due to ammo cost and availability but would much preferred over a handgun of any type. Most of this is due to ease of shooting and hit likelihood. It is much, much easier to gain and maintain proficiency with a long gun than any handgun. Under stress, the ability to hit with a target is greatly reduced and it is even greater when using a handgun. This has been soundly documented so often and for so long that it is surprising peopel still think otherwise. A handgun is better when searching but if one knows there is someone else in the house, it is better to hole up, call the police, and wait for them to arrive than to go looking for trouble. At close range (which a home defense situation is), the .410 will have much more energy than a 38 Spl and produce a wound that will be more than sufficient to stop the problem. Recoil issues would also be pretty much no problem regardless of action type.

For defensive purposes I'd let her use the 12ga- If she has to deploy it to defend herself she will never even notice the recoil and if she needs to practice with it I think even she could handle the the recoil from light target loads for practice. Plus, if she was in fear for her life and had to actually shoot somebody it's hard to beat the performance of a good 12ga buckshot load.

For defensive purposes I'd let her use the 12ga- If she has to deploy it to defend herself she will never even notice the recoil and if she needs to practice with it I think even she could handle the the recoil from light target loads for practice. Plus, if she was in fear for her life and had to actually shoot somebody it's hard to beat the performance of a good 12ga buckshot load.

What would be an example of a "light target load" for myself i am basically more of a handgun guy and have the 12 gauge for home protection so I don't know much about shotgun ammo.

What would be an example of a "light target load" for myself i am basically more of a handgun guy and have the 12 gauge for home protection so I don't know much about shotgun ammo.

Anything suitable for clay targets or dove/quail should be plenty light- something with 1 to 1 1/8 oz of #8 or 9 shot with the lowest dram equilivant you can find. Basically the "cheap" loads you find at Wal-mart on sale for $3.99 a box should fit the bill quite well. She can practice with these all she wants without beating herself up and load the gun with whatever you want for home defense. Like i said earlier if she ever has to use it defend herself she will be so scared/nervous/adrenalined that she won't even notice the recoil. Besides, whats a little bruise on the shoulder if it saves your life.

What exactly are .410's designed for and why does mossberg, and Taurus i.e. "Judge.410/.45lc" advocate them for home defense if they aren't very good at penetration? I am assuming they lack the stopping power of a 12 gauge and just penetrate a little (just enough to annoy an attacker, but not stop them)...

The 410 was designed for birds, but is mostly used today for skeet. The "Judge" and other such nonsense will always be sold as long as there are uneducated buyers.

The 410 payload can only be pushed so fast, but it's just as fast as any other gauge of target velocity, so in that sense, they do not lack in penetration, only in payload. At 410 velocities with buckshot at indoor ditances of 20 feet or so I would think it will completely penetrate a human.

The 410 is OK to fart around with, but it's pretty stupid to plan on using one to protect yourself when there are clearly better choices.

The "Judge" and other such handguns were designed to be an alternative to standard handguns with shot cartridges for use on snakes. A secondary thought was these guns could be a versatile accessory in "survival" type situations. The use of .410 loads in these guns for self defense against larger creatures was not the intended use. Mossberg markets their "security" .410 for those who are unable to take the punishment of the larger bore guns; i.e. the elderly and women. The lesser recoil and "smallness" of the gun many find to be less threatening. I don't know if I agree with the sales pitch but then I haven't done the market research either.
The energy and penetration levels of any pellet is a product of its weight and velocity and is totally independent of the size hole it comes out of. A 00 buckshot pellet out of a .410 at 1200 (the 410 buckshot loads can reach this velocity easily) is no less lethal than the same pellet coming out of a 12 ga at the same speed. The difference in number of pellets is much greater which makes the aggregate energy level swing far in favor of the larger bores.
I also agree that it is better to use a larger bore (and pellet size) if needed to defend one's self but being able to handle the firearm is more important. That is why my wife uses a 20 ga gas operated semi-auto, it is light recoiling and fires a fair sized payload of large-ish shot. It is also a gun that she is very familiar with as it is her upland gun as well as her first competition gun. It is also the smaller version of her competition 12 ga gun which further reinforces the familiarity. If a person is not comfortable with and not able to use a larger gauge shotgun well, then the .410 is the better choice.

The "Judge" and other such handguns were designed to be an alternative to standard handguns with shot cartridges for use on snakes. A secondary thought was these guns could be a versatile accessory in "survival" type situations. The use of .410 loads in these guns for self defense against larger creatures was not the intended use. Mossberg markets their "security" .410 for those who are unable to take the punishment of the larger bore guns; i.e. the elderly and women. The lesser recoil and "smallness" of the gun many find to be less threatening. I don't know if I agree with the sales pitch but then I haven't done the market research either. The energy and penetration levels of any pellet is a product of its weight and velocity and is totally independent of the size hole it comes out of. A 00 buckshot pellet out of a .410 at 1200 (the 410 buckshot loads can reach this velocity easily) is no less lethal than the same pellet coming out of a 12 ga at the same speed. The difference in number of pellets is much greater which makes the aggregate energy level swing far in favor of the larger bores. I also agree that it is better to use a larger bore (and pellet size) if needed to defend one's self but being able to handle the firearm is more important. That is why my wife uses a 20 ga gas operated semi-auto, it is light recoiling and fires a fair sized payload of large-ish shot. It is also a gun that she is very familiar with as it is her upland gun as well as her first competition gun. It is also the smaller version of her competition 12 ga gun which further reinforces the familiarity. If a person is not comfortable with and not able to use a larger gauge shotgun well, then the .410 is the better choice.

Hi , I watched a show about 3 years ago on home defense and what was said that just the sound of a pump gun chambering would scare off 95% of any intruder in your home and that was the % they used 95%. So I pesonally think a pump shotgun being a 12/20/410 preferably the 12/20 loaded with a #5 shot fired at 5 to 10 yds or CLOSER will be plenty of firepwer. But I think the KEY thing here is the PUMPchambering to avoid a confrontationwhich I would not want my wife to have.